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Old 01-11-2018, 10:04 PM   #1
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Sulastic shackles

I have a 2002 e350 v10 4x4, CCV high top pop top, Dana 60 front and rear, billstein 5100 shocks, heavy duty hellwig front and rear sway bar, bfg k02 315/70/17 E rated, 65psi rear, 55psi front, fully loaded, wet, gear, people, I am at 10,000lbs, (6400 rear, 3600 front)

I recently replaced both front and rear springs... and I like the results... progressive coils and 9 leaf rears...

I recently broke a rear shackle..

I replaced them with sulastic shackles and I am amazed at the difference in ride... it is smoother and more stable... by a lot... highly recommended.. it is basically a mini torsion suspension disguised as a rear shackle...

Sulastic. Leaf Spring Shackle

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Old 01-11-2018, 11:19 PM   #2
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x2. I highly recommend them as well. Mine is finally worn out after about 200,000 miles. I haven't emailed the so see if the'll cover a replacement. But that's twice as far as I get out of a gear set. Just blew up my rear axle again...
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Old 01-12-2018, 09:39 AM   #3
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x2. I highly recommend them as well. Mine is finally worn out after about 200,000 miles. I haven't emailed the so see if the'll cover a replacement. But that's twice as far as I get out of a gear set. Just blew up my rear axle again...
I've always been a student of suspensions, even as a kid in the 60's and 70's noticed big American cars that my parents drove had this 'smoothness' that the smaller European cars of the day, didn't. One of the big differences I found in big American cars of the day is these HUGE rubber bushings at every suspension pivot point, 2-1/2" in diameter with a 1/2" bolt through it. Magazine articles in the 80's attributed these bushings to poor if not vague handling.

If you had a hot street car like my V8 Vega, you did anything you could to stiffen up the rear control arm pivots to lessen wheel hop, and get the subcompact disposable to handle around curves. I replaced my lower bushings with 1/2" heim ends. At 16yrs old, I didn't care about harsh.

Replacing them with Urethane (which has it's own problems), or better, Delrin bushings is something that's still done today (look at any Pro Touring 60's muscle car build). The big complaint with delrin is the sometimes 'harshness'. But add very high quality shock absorbers $$$ and (I think) most of that goes away. Ah, the tradeoff for better handling.

I'm trying to understand the 'why' these shackles work in a truck, and I think it's vibration isolation.

Carrigb; Does the rubber seems take a way a lot of the higher frequency vibrations, similar to lowering your tire pressure to 20psi?
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Old 01-12-2018, 10:35 AM   #4
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The Sulastic shackles are laterally constrained, so it doesn't add the vagueness of a traditional suspension bushing. I never felt the slights bit of unwanted movement when I put them in, but I can definitely feel things moving around now that the forward spring bushings on the leafs are shot.

As David mentions, they are really a small torsion spring, very similar to rubber torsion trailer axles. They don't make the suspension any squishier, but they do remove most of the high-frequency road-shock that transmits through the springs, such as expansion joints, concrete joints etc. So to that affect, yes, it is similar to reducing tire pressure. For a van that is able to run lower pressures, the Sulastics will probably make less of a difference. But since i tow and carry a lot of cargo weight, that's not a good option for me, plus I can feel the sidewalls flex if I drop below 55 psi.
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Old 01-12-2018, 11:01 AM   #5
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I considered these when I went about replacing the rotten rubber/steel bushings in my Deaver springs. The main reasons I chose to not use them I was kind of jaded over how quickly the rubber disintegrated in what Deaver used and I was apprehensive to use another rubber replacement that cost 400$ just for the rear. But it sounds like you have had success with them. I went with urethane all around witch has been a huge improvement. Honestly the noise, harshness of the rear of my van isn't a big deal it's the front on a high speed dirt road that I would want what the Sulastic could provide. But using these on the front spring doesn't look ideal or even maybe safe. When I'm rattling down a washboard road I always have this nagging thought of, "I wonder what an Agile TTB would be like right about now".

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Old 01-12-2018, 06:55 PM   #6
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But using these on the front spring doesn't look ideal or even maybe safe. When I'm rattling down a washboard road I always have this nagging thought of, "I wonder what an Agile TTB would be like right about now".

What do you think the result of putting them on the front would be? $400 is a lot of money, but if it improved my front axle it might be worth it. As for the TTB question, I can tell you if you really want to know, but unless your willing to spend the money, you probably don't want to know. I know myself, when I'm on washboard, a TTB is all I can think about. It all started when Ramsey took me for a ride in his van after we worked on mine. I have dreams about flying through Baja in a TTB.
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Old 01-12-2018, 08:52 PM   #7
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I admit to TTB dreams too.
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Old 01-13-2018, 12:36 AM   #8
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Sulastic shackles

Quote:
Originally Posted by arctictraveller View Post
I have dreams about flying through Baja in a TTB.

If it would allow you to be any faster than you were able to drive through some of those sections we were on down there with your current setup, you literally would be flying!
Between myself’s, 1der’s and AT’s 3 rigs, with 3 different suspension setups, it’s amazing the differences in how they handled the rough stuff. Even with my highly modified and aired down Quigley, I felt like I was lumbering along compared to 1der’s Agile TTB.
Although I was much better off once I removed my beefed up front sway bar after busting one of the welds holding it in place (disconnects will be installed!)......Arctictraveller seems to have a bit more cavalier approach to things and just goes for it, I can only imagine the racket inside the rig as the result with that leaf sprung front end.....🤪
Maybe these shackles would help you out in the meantime!




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Old 01-13-2018, 09:06 AM   #9
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As a note, prior to installing the sulastic shackles, I was running at 50 psi all around... And I realized for my load , I was a bit low, so I changed tire pressure to 65 rear and 55 front...

I thought the ride would be much harsher, front and rear... But it is not... And I drive 5 Miles of 30-
55mph gravel washboard roads each way to my house...

Not only did the ride smooth out, but my lateral stability (especially in the rear) improved greatly... I'm amazed.. highway winds and hitting curbs and bumps on an angle entry are a more stable experience...

Currently traveling from Montana to Arizona.. to California to Montana... highway ride, and noise is much improved
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Old 01-13-2018, 09:47 AM   #10
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Darn it David13, now you got me thinking about the Sulastic shackles again. Sometimes I wish I could just turn my engineering brain off for a while.

- Eric
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